Thumper – Review (Switch)

There’s a game arriving to Switch that is fast, unrelenting and like nothing you’ve played before. That game is Thumper. Hold on tight.

Thumper‘s tag line of it being a rhythmic violence game could not be more bang on. You’re on the fastest roller coaster of your life and you have to perfectly hit prompts aligned along the track in order to not get smashed to smithereens. The music in Thumper is not just background noise either, it’s an essential part to staying alive. So what mighty beast must you be to risk life and limb at breakneck speeds?!

A beetle.

Shit. Actually, you’re a space beetle to be fair, but still. Don’t worry, you’re awesome at flying and dipping all over the shop. But you can only take two hits before you’re beetlejuice, squished along the tracks of this dark world. Each level has smaller sections, which almost serve as checkpoints. Then you have a boss fight (sometimes two) which are a lot harder. Like, ridiculously hard. My skills are in no way good enough to complete this game. It’s that classic one more go formula. Even if you get to a point where you can’t bear it anymore, you can’t stop. You’ll want to, because it’s one of the most intense things you’ll ever tap your buttons to, but it’s so addictive. And Thumper knows it. It’s a game that places you firmly in the palm of its hand, and then laughs in your face when you make a mistake.

Thumper is a hellish triumph at almost every turn. Visually, it’s verging on masterpiece status. And the music is just perfect, perfectly suited to the dark universe you have been put in.

CONCLUSIONThumper is dark, futuristic and everything right with games right now. But it’s absolutely brutal – you have been warned.

S_M_Punk is really an all rounder. A powerful cocktail of fighting, platforming, FIFA and tag teaming sees Punk hold valuable gaming knowledge across the board. Complete with his love of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, comics and slash horror games, Punk is a unique gamer who sounds about 15, but is actually 34.

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